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@ Tracey: "I am an owner, no I am the friend of an owner." I'm sure you saw the post on TUG where I apologized for the misinformation. "There are plenty of lawyers who will take on a case because if they get to arbitration than DRI will pay all the fees but DRI will almost never let it get to arbitration." That is correct. DRI stops the arbitration by settling. But it is up to the client whether to accept a settlement offer. If DRI doesn't want to include the attorney fees in the settlement, the client doesn't have to settle. "Never pay upfront because there are lawyers who only charge the small retainer and then will work on contingency only, except that if you are out of state then they may need you to pay up front." You are confused. I said that at one time I advised people not to pay any up front fee. I have revised that advice. No attorney should be doing work he may never get paid for. Things happen in life. Plaintiffs back out or even die. If someone is trying to recover $20,000 or more and get out of the future maintenance fees, I think it's reasonable to ask him to provide the lawyer with some security. And by the way, I don't think the timeshare rescue scams have been perpetrated by licensed attorneys have they? Haven't they usually been non-attorney businesses that claimed they could get you out of debt or get you a surrender? THOSE are the guys you do not want to pay up front. It should be safe to pay a licensed attorney. "I want to have a website for firms with verified testimonials, but because of non disclosure clauses that can't really happen." I never said it can't happen. It certainly can and it will. A person is free to go on line and say they used a particular lawyer and that they were happy with the outcome of the case. They just can't give any details of the settlement. "There are so many cons in the timeshare biz but I am not a con and you should take my word even though I can't provide any proof (which is what every TS con would pretty much say)." I never said any of that. I don't expect anyone to blindly take my word for anything. "My advice if you want to go that route would be if you already have an attorney that you trust, run it by him and her and see what he thinks and if he could point you in some kind of direction or if you have some kind of legal benefit as part of a work benefit with a free half hour consultation try running it by that service." People need all the advice they can get to make an informed decision. Free advice is a great place to start. Get all of the free consultations you can get and ask every question you can think of. Go to the legal forums on the net that offer free advice. Just know you cannot blindly follow anyone's advice. Know that some lawyers will have no idea what they are talking about! I know this because I've heard quite a few stories about the advice TS owners got from lawyers. For example one guy I met was told by his free half hour lawyer that he should take a surrender if he could get one. The guy was smart enough to ignore that advice and he found competent representation. A few months later he had a full refund. Another person I met took the free advice that there was nothing he could do, so he paid $9,000 to a surrender company to get out of his contract. "Also if you want to be helpful Susan and write up that guide you mentioned, maybe start with all the documentation an owner who is thinking about going with a lawyer (or up against the TS company on there own) should gather and what phone calls they can make and what they should say to the TS company and how to document those calls." That is on my long list of things to do. "That would be way more helpful than the advice to find a good attorney who may or may not charge several thousand dollars upfront." I don't give people that advice, lol. As I said, I am thorough. I explain things. I guess I rant about them, lol! Thank you for your time.